Katarina Vara

Katarina Vara first joined the Broward Sheriff's Office as a summer hire and student intern in 2005. After high school, she interned with the Public Information Office and Community Affairs in 2010 until she was hired in 2011. During her career at BSO, Katarina has held various positions, including in the Records Division, Child Protective Investigations Section, Pretrial Services, and the Training Division. She returned to Community Affairs in 2022 when she was selected as the Community Affairs Manager.

With a focus on public awareness and engagement, Katarina manages a team responsible for internal and external communications, branding, and marketing for the third-largest full-service public safety agency and the largest nationally accredited sheriff's office in the United States. This year, Community Affairs and the Public Information Office won three Telly Awards for videos highlighting important public safety information.

Katarina earned a bachelor's degree in Public Communication with minors in Business Administration and Sociology from Florida Atlantic University and a master's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University. She recently achieved the Florida Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Practitioner Designation and completed the leadership trilogy through FBI-LEEDA.